Not Medical Advice: According to Spine-health, a back muscle strain or ligament strain is one of the most common causes of acute lower back pain. Lifting a heavy object, twisting, or a sudden movement can cause muscles or ligaments stretch or develop microscopic tears.
With a lower back strain, the severity of the pain ranges from mild discomfort to severe, disabling pain, depending on the extent of strain and the lower back muscle spasms that result from the injury.
Symptoms of severe or aching pain in the lower back include any combination of the following:
Difficulty moving that can be severe enough to prevent walking or standing
Pain that also moves around to the gr0in, buttock or upper thigh, but rarely travels below the knee
Pain that tends to be achy and dull
Muscle spasms, which can be severe
Local soreness upon touch
Sciatica describes the symptoms caused when a nerve root in the lower spine is compressed, causing pain and numbness to travel along the large sciatic nerve that serves the buttocks, legs and feet.
In younger adults, sciatica can be caused by a wide range of conditions, most commonly a lumbar herniated disc (may also be caused by degenerative disc disease, isthmic spondylolisthesis, and other conditions).
Sciatica includes any combination of the following symptoms:
Pain typically is ongoing (as opposed to flaring up for a few days or weeks and then subsiding)
Pain may be worse in the leg and foot than in the lower back
Typically felt on one side the buttock or leg only
Pain that is usually worse after long periods of standing still or sitting: relieved somewhat when walking
More severe (burning, tingling) vs. dull, aching pain
May be accompanied by weakness, numbness or difficulty moving the leg or foot
To learn more about Lower Back Pain Symptoms and Causes, visit Spine-health.
Check out 14 Tips to Relieve Back Pain in Pictures at WebMD.